As Earl Spencer and his ex-wife Caroline sat a few feet away from each other in London's High Court without so much as a look in the other's direction, it was clear that the emotions stirred up by the end of their marriage had not dissipated.

But this week they co-operated to settle the outstanding issues in their divorce proceedings out of court, thus keeping details of their intimate affairs out of the public eye.

Countess Spencer, who has two children - five-year-old Edmund and Lara, three - with the 44-year-old aristocrat, was granted a decree nisi in March 2007 on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour on his part.

A decree absolute had not been granted as disputes remained over the division of their assets.

Now the Earl, pictured with Kitty - his 18-year-old daughter from another marriage - is thought to have agreed to hand over the keys to a family home in Little Venice, West London.

Bought from Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour in 2001, the luxury Georgian house overlooks Regent's Canal.